New Releases by Gilbert Keith Chesterton

In "The Flying Inn," G. K. Chesterton constructs an imaginative narrative brimming with his characteristic wit and philosophical discourse. Set against the backdrop of a fictionalized England grappling with the conflicts of modernity and tradition, the novel follows the escapades of an innkeeper and his friend as they embark on a quest to defend English culture from the absurdities of a totalitarian regime intent on banning alcohol. Chesterton's vivid prose and richly drawn characters serve as a canvas for his exploration of themes such as liberty, loyalty, and the intertwining of faith and reason, all through a lens of fantasy that reflects the socio-political climate of the early 20th century. Chesterton, a celebrated British author, philosopher, and journalist, was renowned for his sharp insights into contemporary society and moral philosophy. His deep-rooted Christian beliefs and skepticism towards progressivism are manifest in his works, including "The Flying Inn," where he critiques the encroachment of bureaucratic control on personal freedoms. His life experiences, characterized by a keen understanding of the complexities of society, influenced his creation of narratives that combine both lighthearted adventure and serious moral inquiry. For readers seeking a thought-provoking yet entertaining exploration of societal values, "The Flying Inn" is a timeless piece that captures the essence of Chesterton's literary genius. It invites reflection on the past and present, encouraging readers to ponder the balance between tradition and modernity in a rapidly changing world. This novel is not only a delightful read but also a thorough examination of human liberty and cultural identity.

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare is a novel by G. K. Chesterton, first published in 1908. The book has been referred to as a metaphysical thriller. Although it deals with anarchists, the novel is not an exploration or rebuttal of anarchist thought; Chesterton's ad hoc construction of "Philosophical Anarchism" is distinguished from ordinary anarchism and is referred to several times not so much as a rebellion against government but as a rebellion against God. The novel has been described as "one of the hidden hinges of twentieth-century writing, the place where, before our eyes, the nonsense-fantastical tradition of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear pivots and becomes the nightmare-fantastical tradition of Kafka and Borges.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton KC*SG was an English writer, philosopher, lay theologian, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Chesterton's book is a series of mysterious stories with the participation of the narrator and his friend, an eccentric ex-judge Basil Grant. Each story is about someone who belongs to the Club of Strange Merchants - about who makes a living in a unique way. This is an exciting journey for every reader.

Francis of Assisi is, after Mary of Nazareth, the greatest saint in the Christian calendar, and one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. By universal acclaim, this biography by G. K. Chesterton is considered the best appreciation of Francis's life--the one that gets to the heart of the matter.For Chesterton, Francis is a great paradoxical figure, a man who loved women but vowed himself to chastity; an artist who loved the pleasures of the natural world as few have loved them, but vowed himself to the most austere poverty, stripping himself naked in the public square so all could see that he had renounced his worldly goods; a clown who stood on his head in order to see the world aright. Chesterton gives us Francis in his world-the riotously colorful world of the High Middle Ages, a world with more pageantry and romance than we have seen before or since. Here is the Francis who tried to end the Crusades by talking to the Saracens, and who interceded with the emperor on behalf of the birds.

"Chesterton's somewhat loosey-goosey outline of history doubles as the best modern argument for Christianity I've ever read. You have to give in to the Chestertonian style, but if you do, be careful -- you might just be converted." -Ross Douthat The Everlasting Man is a Christian apologetics book written by G. K. Chesterton, published in 1925. It is, to some extent, a deliberate rebuttal of H. G. Wells' The Outline of History, disputing Wells' portrayals of human life and civilization as a seamless development from animal life and of Jesus Christ as merely another charismatic figure. Chesterton detailed his own spiritual journey in Orthodoxy, but in this book he tries to illustrate the spiritual journey of humanity, or at least of Western civilization. A Must Read for the Christian Apologetics Genre!

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 - 14 June 1936) was one of the most influential English writers of the 20th century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy and detective fiction. Chesterton has been called the "prince of paradox." Time magazine, in a review of a biography of Chesterton, observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories--first carefully turning them inside out." For example, Chesterton wrote the following: Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it. Chesterton is well known for his reasoned apologetics and even those who disagree with him have recognized the universal appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man. Chesterton, as political thinker, cast aspersions on both Liberalism and Conservatism, saying: The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected. Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian, and came to identify such a position with Catholicism more and more, eventually converting to Roman Catholicism. George Bernard Shaw, Chesterton's "friendly enemy" according to Time, said of him, "He was a man of colossal genius".

Francis of Assisi is, after Mary of Nazareth, perhaps the greatest saint in the Christian calendar, and one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. By universal acclaim, this biography by G. K. Chesterton is considered the best appreciation of Francis's life--the one that gets to the heart of the matter.For Chesterton, Francis is a great paradoxical figure, a man who loved women but vowed himself to chastity; an artist who loved the pleasures of the natural world as few have loved them, but vowed himself to the most austere poverty, stripping himself naked in the public square so all could see that he had renounced his worldly goods; a clown who stood on his head in order to see the world aright. Chesterton gives us Francis in his world-the riotously colorful world of the High Middle Ages, a world with more pageantry and romance than we have seen before or since. Here is the Francis who tried to end the Crusades by talking to the Saracens, and who interceded with the emperor on behalf of the birds. Here is the Francis who inspired a revolution in art that began with Giotto and a revolution in poetry that began with Dante. Here is the Francis who prayed and danced with pagan abandon, who talked to animals, who invented the creche.

The Ball and the Cross is a novel by G. K. Chesterton. The title refers to a more worldly and rationalist worldview, represented by a ball or sphere, and the cross representing Christianity. The first chapters of the book were serialized from 1905 to 1906 with the completed work published in 1909. The novel's beginning involves debates about rationalism and religion between a Professor Lucifer and a monk named Michael. A part of this section was quoted in Pope John Paul I's Illustrissimi letter to G. K. Chesterton. Much of the rest of the book concerns the dueling, figurative and somewhat more literal, of a Jacobite Catholic named Maclan and an atheist Socialist named Turnbull

The Man Who Knew Too Much and other stories (1922) is a book of detective stories by English writer G. K. Chesterton, published in 1922 by Cassell and Company in the United Kingdom, and Harper Brothers in the United States.[1][2][3][4] The book contains eight connected short stories about "The Man Who Knew Too Much", and additional unconnected stories featuring separate heroes/detectives. The United States edition contained one of these additional stories: "The Trees of Pride", while the United Kingdom edition contained "Trees of Pride" and three more, shorter stories: "The Garden of Smoke", "The Five of Swords" and "The Tower of Treason".

The Ballad of the White Horse by Gilbert Keith Chesterton BOOK I. THE VISION OF THE KING Before the gods that made the godsHad seen their sunrise pass, The White Horse of the White Horse ValeWas cut out of the grass.Before the gods that made the godsHad drunk at dawn their fill, The White Horse of the White Horse ValeWas hoary on the hill.Age beyond age on British land, Aeons on aeons gone, Was peace and war in western hills, And the White Horse looked on.For the White Horse knew EnglandWhen there was none to know;He saw the first oar break or bend, He saw heaven fall and the world end, O God, how long ago.For the end of the world was long ago, And all we dwell to-dayAs children of some second birth, Like a strange people left on earthAfter a judgment day.For the end of the world was long ago, When the ends of the world waxed free, When Rome was sunk in a waste of slaves, And the sun drowned in the sea.When Caesar's sun fell out of the skyAnd whoso hearkened rightCould only hear the plungingOf the nations in the night.When the ends of the earth came marching inTo torch and cresset gleam.And the roads of the world that lead to RomeWere filled with faces that moved like foam, Like faces in a dream.And men rode out of the eastern lands, Broad river and burning plain;Trees that are Titan flowers to see, And tiger skies, striped horribly, With tints of tropic rain.Where Ind's enamelled peaks ariseAround that inmost one, Where ancient eagles on its brink, Vast as archangels, gather and drinkThe sacrament of the sun.And men brake out of the northern lands, Enormous lands alone, Where a spell is laid upon life and lustAnd the rain is changed to a silver dustAnd the sea to a great green stone.And a Shape that moveth murkilyIn mirrors of ice and night, Hath blanched with fear all beasts and birds, As death and a shock of evil wordsBlast a man's hair with white.And the cry of the palms and the purple moons, Or the cry of the frost and foam, Swept ever around an inmost place, And the din of distant race on raceCried and replied round Rome.And there was death on the EmperorAnd night upon the Pope: And Alfred, hiding in deep grass, Hardened his heart with hope.A sea-folk blinder than the seaBroke all about his land, But Alfred up against them bareAnd gripped the ground and grasped the air, Staggered, and strove to stand.He bent them back with spear and spade, With desperate dyke and wall, With foemen leaning on his shieldAnd roaring on him when he reeled;And no help came at all.He broke them with a broken swordA little towards the sea, And for one hour of panting peace, Ringed with a roar that would not cease, With golden crown and girded fleeceMade laws under a tree. The Northmen came about our landA Christless chivalry: Who knew not of the arch or pen, Great, beautiful half-witted menFrom the sunrise and the sea.Misshapen ships stood on the deepFull of strange gold and fire, And hairy men, as huge as sinWith horned heads, came wading inThrough the long, low sea-mire.Our towns were shaken of tall kingsWith scarlet beards We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it

Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG (29 May 1874 - 14 June 1936), better known as G. K. Chesterton, was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox."Time magazine has observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories-first carefully turning them inside out." Chesterton is well known for his fictional priest-detective Father Brown, and for his reasoned apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognised the wide appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man. Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian, and came to identify this position more and more with Catholicism, eventually converting to Catholicism from High Church Anglicanism. George Bernard Shaw, his "friendly enemy," said of him, "He was a man of colossal genius." Biographers have identified him as a successor to such Victorian authors as Matthew Arnold, Thomas Carlyle, Cardinal John Henry Newman, and John Ruskin

The Innocence of Father Brown by Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton has become a classic of Christian apologetics. In the book's preface Chesterton states the purpose is to "attempt an explanation, not of whether the Christian faith can be believed, but of how he personally has come to believe it." In it, Chesterton presents an original view of Christian religion. He sees it as the answer to natural human needs, the "answer to a riddle" in his own words, and not simply as an arbitrary truth received from somewhere outside the boundaries of human experience. Aeterna Press

When Chesterton defends and explains the great Victorian author, his arguments prophetically defend his own writing. Dickens, for instance, was accused of being superficial. So was Chesterton. Of such critics, Chesterton says, “they cannot grasp that there is foam upon the deep seas.” Such critics are too easily impressed by depressing literature and the confinement inflicted by sorrow. They cannot appreciate the difficulty of portraying happiness and the liberty provided by laughter. Aeterna Press

Includes two essays by Chesterton, "The true romance" and "If Don John of Austria had married Mary, Queen of Scots."

This is the first edition of Chesterton's masterpiece, The Man Who Was Thursday, that explicates and enriches the complete text with extensive footnotes, together with an introductory essay on the metaphysical meaning of Chesterton's profound allegory. Gardner sees the novel's anarchists as symbols of our God-given free will, and the mysterious Sunday as representing Nature, with its strange mixture of good and evil when considered as distinct from God, as a mask hiding the transcendental face of the creator. The book also includes a bibliography listing the novel's many earlier editions and stage dramatizations, as well as numerous illustrations that further illuminate the text.

A unique collection of 10 of the best of Chesterton's famous Fr. Brown mysteries, this book's focus is on the stories that emphasize the role of Brown's Catholic faith in helping solve the murders. This is a special deluxe edition.

A history of humanity, Christ, and Christianity, this 1925 polemic famously converted C. S. Lewis from atheism. Chesterton's view of Christianity&- as a rare blend of philosophy and mythology, satisfying to both intellect and spirit&- applies to his brilliant book, which appeals to readers' heads as well as their hearts.

Short stories about the priest's solution of baffling mysteries are accompanied by background and textual notes.

Further detective adventures of an English priest.

Father Brown is a seemingly innocent man of the cloth, whimsical yet wise, who exhibits uncanny insight into ingeniously tricky human problems. This collection includes twelve mysteries solved by the redoubtable Father Brown.

"The father of paradox. The outstanding characteristics of Father Brown are his remarkable abilities: first, to imagine himself in the place of the criminal; and secondly, his insight into the human heart, gained over a long period of time in the course of his parish work. These two qualities make him the most human, most lovable, and the wisest of all fictional detectives. Physically, he is small and insignificant man, except for a rahter large round stomach and small round hat. At first people are inclined to overlook him, but after five minutes of conversation people recognize that he talks truth." --

Utopia of Usurers is a classic collection of political essays which comment upon the conditions of Great Britain by G.K. Chesterton. What is it that angers Chesterton and fills him with grim forebodings for the future of his island? Many things and, especially, many persons. But chiefly the capitalists, the upper middle class, the usurers, or however they be termed, and the fear of the servile state, the state in which art and literature and science and efficiency and morality and everything else that has value in the eyes of mortal man become the humble servants of the money-changers, in short, the "utopia of usurers." --The Dial, 1918.

So it was, certainly, with the Bastille. The destruction of the Bastille was not a reform; it was something more important than a reform. It was an iconoclasm; it was the breaking of a stone image. The people saw the building like a giant looking at them with a score of eyes, and they struck at it as at a carved fact. For of all the shapes in which that immense illusion called materialism can terrify the soul, perhaps the most oppressive are big buildings. Man feels like a fly, an accident, in the thing he has himself made. It requires a violent effort of the spirit to remember that man made this confounding thing and man could unmake it.